@ EconCeleb: New Voices: Blogs And Social Media Get In The Game

Matt Kapko

Jul. 23, 2008 - 8:31 PM PST
Jul. 23, 2008 - 8:31 PM PST

Users seeking celebrity news and content want something more, something deeper that they can socialize around, Tyler Goldman, CEO of Buzznet, said on a panel on blogs and social media moderated by our founder and editor, Rafat Ali. Goldman, Mike Dodge, SVP/GM, AtomicOnline; Mattias Miksche, co-founder & CEO, Stardoll; and R.J. Williams, founder, producer & CEO, YoungHollywood talked about how they can differentiate their online properties from the established players in this space like TMZ.com or PerezHilton.com. The space is still young enough to allow new entrants and others to carve out their niche, Goldman said. “Consumption just keeps increasing so I don’t think we’re going to bubble.”

— Areas of unmet demand: On existing outlets, social media aspects are few and far between, often times limited to sharing posts with friends, Goldman said. At Buzznet they believe the more contributors and writers, the better. “If you want to cover them deeply, you really need thousands of writers.” Users that are passionate about a celebrity or group want new information every couple minutes, a nearly impossible feat without an interactive, social component, Goldman said. Rather than delivering content on a one-too-many model, Buzznet is trying to drive more dialogue and conversation among users. And Goldman noted that advertisers are just as interested in social media engagement as the users are. Williams said they’ve focused on producing content that helps users get to know celebrities as people in their everyday lives. YoungHollywood follows up-and-coming celebrities because it wants to be ahead of the curve. “We’re focusing really on that next generation,” and less on household names. Whether it means hanging out with the celebrity at home or while on vacation, “we get them in a relaxed environment that they’re really comfortable in.” Miksche said they work closely with celebrities and agents to act as a promotional marketing vehicle to gain more audience for both site and celebrity. “We help each other out,” Miksche said. “We want to be the best friends of these celebrities.”